If It Weren't for Those Meddling Kids
by batastrophe
Summary: Everything was going fine until the Team decided to investigate those spooky rumors down at the old ghost town…and why does Robin keep stealing all of Kid Flash's food? Also includes some Spitfire, just because. [Scooby-Doo inspired]


**A/N: Hello, I'm back! This is a Scooby-Doo inspired fic that I wrote as part of the YJFicExchange for Audikatia. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

"Hello Megan! I don't know why we haven't done this before! Road trip with the Team? Seeing amazing Earth historical sites? I can't believe I've never done this!"

"Yeah, cause I've always wanted to visit a defunct ghost town. My dream vacation," drawled Artemis, leaning her forehead against the window of the bioship. Robin nudged her in the side playfully, earning a scathing glance from Artemis.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it," he said, grinning broadly. "Besides, we're here on a mission, not a vacation."

"'Spooky hijinks at the falling-apart tourist trap?' Sorry if I have a hard time taking that entirely seriously," she replied.

"Every mission is serious, Artemis," said Kaldur from across the bio-ship. "Though I will admit that this one is…unusual."

"Well, I think it's great," said M'gann from the pilot's seat. "Did you know that they filmed the 1969 Winton family vacation episode of _Family Happens_ at the old Happy Valley ghost town? It'll be almost like we were there!"

"Yeah babe, I love _Family Happens_ ," said Wally absently, leaning back in this chair and catching a piece of popcorn in his open mouth. Artemis rolled her eyes. "Besides, we all know that all these stories of ghosts or whatever are totally bogus," he said, swiveling back and forth in his chair. "All we need to do is get in, see what smuggling or trafficking or whatever is actually going down, get out, and report to Batman. Easy."

"We're here!" sang M'gann as she lowered the bioship to the ground.

"Remember," said Kaldur, meeting each member of the team's eye. "This is recon _only_. Civilian disguises. Canvas the area, ask any locals what they've seen, and _don't break cover_."

"As if we'd break cover," scoffed Wally.

"Yeah, when has that ever happened before, Kid-Idiot?" snarked Artemis.

"Hey!"

"Enough!" said Kaldur, though his tone was more resigned than angry. "Do I need to split the two of you up?"

The two of them almost simultaneously pursed their lips and glared in opposite directions. Robin snickered.

"Come on, everyone, let's go!" said M'gann, unable to contain her excitement. She spun in a circle, morphing her clothes from her Miss Martian uniform into a purple dress with a green neckerchief and changing her skin tone from green to pale, then opened a hole in the bottom of the bioship and drifted gently to the ground. "It's all clear down here!" she called up.

"At least somebody's excited," muttered Artemis, crossing her arms and strolling out of the bioship through the more conventional door and ramp.

"Buzzkill," muttered Wally, stalking out behind her. Robin snickered again. "What?" demanded Wally, turning to his friend. "What's so funny?"

Robin put on this most innocent face and pulled an exaggerated shrug, then ducked out of the bioship ahead of Wally, easily catching up with the girls.

"Little twerp," muttered Wally, then followed his teammates outside.

* * *

Five minutes later, the five of them were standing in the visitor's center of the Old Happy Valley Historical Museum.

"Curious," said Kaldur, reading one of the signs. "It says here that over a hundred years ago, the old town of Happy Valley was plagued by a highwayman. He stole a fortune in gold and silver from government stagecoaches that would pass through the town, and was responsible for more than a few murders."

"Yeah, until he vanished without a trace!" said Robin, reading the rest of the display. "Spooky."

"More like he'd finally stolen his weight in riches and decided to have a nice, cushy retirement," cut in Wally, leaning against the wall in a picture of boredom, his green T-shirt bunching up around his shoulders as he slid down a couple inches.

"Indeed," said a deep voice from around the corner, "At the time there were rumors that the mysterious highwayman had journeyed back to the East Coast, to live out his life among his spoils." Wally jumped a little, and Artemis snorted as an older man appeared from around the corner. He was middle aged with brown hair with just the beginnings of some gray at his temples and a few subtle wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and was wearing a brown suit with a pair of spectacles tucked into the breast pocket. "Excuse me," he said, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "I didn't mean to startle you kids. I'm Hollis Mayweather, the curator of the museum. We don't often get many visitors, so I was perhaps a bit over-eager to show you kids around." Artemis bristled a little at the repetition of the word "kids," but Kaldur took it in stride, reaching out to shake Hollis's hand.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Mayweather," said Kaldur evenly. "But surely, you've gotten a few more visitors recently."

"Yeah," cut in Wally, "All those stories about ghosts in the past few weeks? You'd think you'd be attracting all sorts of people."

"Oh, those silly stories," laughed Mr. Mayweather. "Yes, we did get a bit of an influx at first, but only at first. I, for one, think there's no truth to them, but…"

"But?" prompted Artemis.

"Well…it seems that many of our visitors are actually…too scared to come back."

"Really?" asked M'gann, her eyes wide. "Maybe there really is a ghost!"

"I'm sure it's all nonsense," said the curator. "But, if you're keen on avoiding any supernatural encounters, I'd suggest avoiding the area of the town near the abandoned sawmill. Keep well away from there, and you surely won't see any ghosts."

"Surely, we won't go over there," replied Robin, a small smile growing on his lips.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the gang was at the abandoned sawmill, set to do some old-fashioned snooping.

"Really, if he actually thought the sawmill was dangerous, then why would he point out the sawmill?" said Wally, picking up a dusty piece of equipment and examining it.

"Stop looking for souvenirs and start looking for clues, already!" said Artemis, turning to glare at the speedster and just missing seeing a trapdoor opening noiselessly behind her.

"She's right, Wally," said Robin, cutting off what was sure to be a biting retort. He was absorbed in readings from his wrist computer and hadn't bothered to look up. "Batman wouldn't have sent us here if he thought nothing was going on." In the doorway, a spectral figure dressed as a highwayman appeared, and raised one arm as though to snatch Artemis.

"Well, I don't know what he thought was going on, but there's no way it's a ghost!" Wally groused, dropping the antique back on the table with a clang. The trapdoor slid shut on the figure a moment before Artemis turned her gaze back around, totally oblivious to what had been behind her a moment ago.

"I wouldn't necessarily rule it out," said Kaldur as he gazed thoughtfully up toward the ceiling of the building. "We already know that magic exists, so can we really rule out the supernatural?"

"Yeah, ever heard of Deadman, KF?" asked Robin, glancing up from his wrist computer. "Or John Constantine? _Frankenstein?_ "

Wally rolled his eyes, and unconsciously picked up another artefact, waving it in his hand as though brushing these facts aside. "Hypnotic mind control, obsessed occultist, and science gone wrong. None of that is _supernatural_." This time, a panel behind Robin slid open silently. Sensing a shift in the air, he raised his head slowly…

"On Mars, we have several stories that seem to suggest the existence of ghosts," said M'gann easily. "There isn't as much stigma about whether or not you believe in them."

"Well, if you believe in ghosts, babe, then who's to say they're not real," said Wally, zipping over to stand next to M'gann.

"Uh, guys…" said Robin faintly from the corner.

"Oh my god, you're not seriously doing this again, are you Wally?" said Artemis, talking over Robin. "First magic, now the supernatural?"

"Guys!" said Robin a little more urgently.

"I mean, it's one thing to be blindly stubborn, but it's totally another thing to just toss that out the window just because you think it'll impress M'gann!"

"She's right, Wally," said M'gann, not unkindly. "I'm not going to think less of you just because you don't think ghosts are real."

"GUYS!" shouted Robin. "Can we stop debating the existence of ghosts and maybe actually pay attention to the _actual ghost in the room!_ "

That got their attention. Robin was facing away from them and toward what could only be described as…a ghost. It was glowing faintly blue and dressed like an old-timey highwayman, a bandana concealing its nose and mouth, a sword drawn in one hand.

"That…that…that's not a ghost," stammered Wally. "No way."

Robin took the opportunity to throw a couple batarangs at the specter, only to have them pass straight though and bury themselves in the wooden wall behind it. "Well, it sure seems like a ghost to me!" yelped Robin, leaping away as the figure made a snatching motion toward him.

"Let's think logically about this," said Artemis, also backing away. "If it's a ghost, then it's not like it can actually do anything to us. The sword isn't real."

As though answering a challenge, the highwayman raised the sword and slashed down, slicing clean through a wooden railing.

"I think the sword is real!" yelled Robin.

Kaldur pulled out his water-bearers, which had been concealed in a backpack. "Miss Martian, link us up!"

M'gann's eyes glowed green for a moment, and then they all felt the familiar presence of the rest of the Team in their minds.

 _Team, form up_ , said Kaldur mentally and they slowly moved to surround the figure.

 _Okay, but how do you suggest we fight this thing?_ asked Artemis. _I only have my crossbow right now, and the bolts will go straight through that thing!_

 _Remember Amazo?_ asked Kaldur. _Perhaps when the objects the ghost wields are made corporeal—_

 _The highwayman is made corporeal at the same time!_ said Robin, his eyes widening. _Kaldur, that's brilliant!_

 _Kid Flash, draw the highwayman's attention, but don't let him hit you,_ said Kaldur.

 _On it!_ said Wally, and vanished in a blur. "Hey ghosty!" he called from the other side of the sawmill. "Over here, slow poke!"

The highwayman growled and lifted his sword, stalking toward Wally. "Leeeaaaave!" it gurgled as it approached him. "Leeeaaaave!"

"Want me to leave? Okay," said Wally, and zipped to the other side of the room just as the sword arced down on where he used to be. "Oh, I'm sorry, you meant leave altogether?" called Wally as the specter turned and came after him again. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific next time!"

"Leeeaaaaave!"

 _Robin, I want you scanning that ghost_ , said Kaldur.

 _Waaayyy ahead of you,_ replied Robin, from where he was crouched behind an old sawhorse, already typing madly away at his wrist computer. _I've already got scans of the whole building, I just need to get a good scan of Mr. Ghosty himself!_

 _Good,_ replied Kaldur. _Miss Martian, go chameleon. The next time the highwayman brings his sword down, see if you can test our theory_.

 _Right,_ nodded M'gann, and faded into the background and floated to hover over the ghost. Indeed, the ghost seemed totally unaware that she was there, until she dropped a giant log down on him with her telekinesis the next time he slashed his sword at Wally. A great plume of sawdust flew into the air, and the Team had to close their eyes against the woodchips for a moment.

"Did…did I get him?" asked M'gann, floating down to the ground. There were a few moments of quiet.

"Yeah, babe, I think you did!" said Wally, blowing some sawdust off the tip of his nose. "Now we just gotta—"

"Wally, look out!" called Artemis, just as the highwayman burst out from under the lumber, swinging his sword at Wally's head. Wally ducked, the sword shaving off a few red hairs.

"Whoa–!" yelped Robin at the close call, as Wally zipped away and M'gann flew up into the air to get clear of the ghost. "So much for the ghost becoming corporeal!"

" _LEEEAAAAVE!_ " gurgled the ghost, advancing on Robin and Artemis now.

"Kaldur, new plan!" said Artemis, instinctually reaching for her quiver, which wasn't there.

Kaldur backed away, uncertain, the ghost bearing down on his team. _Retreat!_ he called out mentally. _We can't fight what we don't understand! Regroup at the bioship._

 _You don't have to tell me twice!_ said Robin, leaping away in the nick of time as the sword came down again, slicing neatly through the sawhorse he'd been crouching behind. _This way!_ he said to Artemis, grabbing her around the middle and firing his grapple gun, the two of them vanishing through the a jagged hole in the roof.

M'gann levitated herself out through the same way, Wally zipped around the specter and out the front door, and Kaldur followed suit.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the Team was back in the bioship, which was cloaked, all of them still covered in sawdust. Kaldur ruefully removed the orange scarf he'd worn to hide his gills and shook sawdust out of it.

"Well, that…"

"Could have gone better, yeah," finished Artemis, finger-combing sawdust out of her hair. She winced when some of it fell down the folds of her turtleneck.

"And so much for covert," sighed Kaldur.

"I'm a little less concerned by us blowing our cover as I am by the…the…whatever that thing was!" said Wally.

"There's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this," said Artemis reasonably.

"Yeah, like, mirrors, or holograms, or—"

" _The place is haunted_ ," said Artemis, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, thanks a lot!" said Wally, throwing his arms in the air and raising a little cloud of sawdust. Artemis wrinkled her nose and made a shooing motion at him. Wally rolled his eyes and stalked over to his go-bag, where he's stashed some food. "Honestly, I can't believe that you believe that there's really a ghost."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" demanded M'gann. "I can believe in ghosts but Artemis can't?"

"I mean—that's not—" stammered Wally.

"Cool it, KF, before you break something," said Robin, tapping Wally on the forehead and snatching his snack bar and taking a huge bite out of it.

"Hey!" said Wally pointlessly. "I was going to eat that."

"Like you don't have more," spat Artemis, even more annoyed for some reason.

"Let's all settle down!" said Kaldur firmly. They all jumped a little, mildly embarrassed by their sniping. "I think it's safe to say we are all a bit…taken off guard by what we just saw. But supernatural or not, we will find a way to defeat this villain and discover his motivations. It seems we have a mystery to solve."

"Alright!" grinned Robin. "What's the plan?"

"When night falls, we search for clues."

* * *

Waiting for night to fall was easier said than done. Specifically, being cooped up in the bioship with both an irritable Kid Flash and Artemis was particularly trying. Over the next few hours the rest of the team tried to close their ears as Artemis and Wally shot verbal jabs back and forth at one another.

Perhaps splitting them up wouldn't be a bad idea, after all.

"It's time," said Kaldur, looking out the window at the silhouette of the ghost town backlit against the last orange glow of sunlight. "We'll split up to look for clues—"

"Great idea, I can go with M'gann—" started Wally.

"I'll go with the girls, and Kid Flash can go with Robin," said Kaldur, speaking over him. "Stay low-profile, and meet back here in one hour. Use the mind-link if you run into trouble."

"Linking us now," said M'gann. _Everyone here?_ she asked mentally.

They all replied. _Good_ , said Kaldur. _Set your uniforms to stealth mode, and don't take any unnecessary risks. We don't yet know what we're dealing with_.

* * *

"This is just…ugh!" said Wally in a stage whisper.

"Shhhh," said Robin, poking his head around a corner. "Stealthy, remember?" They were back in their proper uniforms, in stealth mode, and Wally and Robin were investigating some odd readings Robin had picked up near the old blacksmith shop.

"First Artemis is being…Artemis…and then M'gann is taking her side, and then there's a ghost…thing…that's obviously _not_ a ghost—"

"Wally, I think you need to have more of an open mind about this," said Robin, crouching down and dragging his finger through some dust on the ground.

"So you're saying you think this is a ghost?" demanded Wally.

"I'm _saying_ you need to calm down and think this through with your head, not your emotions. It could be a ghost, but it might not be either. Getting worked up about it isn't going to help anything."

"But a ghost is so—"

" _Doesn't matter_ ," Robin interrupted, rubbing the dust between his gloved fingers. "We follow the clues, like Kaldur said, no matter how implausible the conclusion. Facts and good old-fashioned detective work will solve any mystery. Batman taught me that."

* * *

"Hey, look at this," whispered Artemis. "Could be a clue." She, Kaldur, and M'gann were on the other side of the town. They'd planned on heading back to the old sawmill and looking for clues, but they hadn't quite gotten there when Artemis spotted something.

"Tread marks!" said M'gann. "Why would there be something leaving tread marks in a ghost town? Was there any construction going on?"

"No, there was not," murmured Kaldur thoughtfully. "And it looks like there's a trail."

"The tread marks came from the old sawmill," said Artemis thoughtfully. "But where are they going?"

"Let's follow them!" said M'gann, and floated up above the tread marks. Artemis and Kaldur followed, holding their weapons ready. The trail led them through the ghost town, past dark empty windows and foreboding alleys.

"I don't like this," whispered Artemis tensely. "We could be walking right into a trap."

"I know," replied Kaldur. "But it's the best clue we have."

"Hey, look at this!" said M'gann, hovering a few feet ahead near a lumpy object covered in a tarp. Using her telekinesis, she lifted the cloth off, revealing a large yellow backhoe.

" _That_ doesn't look like it belongs here," said Artemis. She walked over to the front of the machine and wiped her finger along the edge of the bucket. "Is this…sawdust?" she asked, holding her finger out to Kaldur.

"It looks like it," he said, examining the dust himself. "Which means that someone is digging something up at the old sawmill!"

"Hey, what's this–whoa!"

"M'gann?" called Artemis, spinning around, but her teammate wasn't behind her any more. "M'gann! Where did she go?"

* * *

"Dust from the sawmill," murmured Robin, examining the dust on his fingers. "And…is that gold dust?" Robin typed a few things on his wrist computer, and slid a sample of the dust into his gauntlet. "It _is_ gold dust!" he said. "KF, do you know what this means?"

"Like, the old highwayman's treasure isn't as lost as we thought it was?"

"Exactly," said Robin, grinning.

"LEEEAAAAVE!"

"Gah!" shouted Wally, leaping back just as the highwayman's sword came splitting through the wall right between him and Robin. "You know, I was _really_ hoping we wouldn't see this guy again!"

Robin was too busy to answer, ducking and flipping away from the highwayman's sword strikes. "Hey, over here!" called Wally, trying to distract the ghost like he had before. But the ghost wasn't having it; it seemed he'd figured out that Robin was the more vulnerable target. "Ghost-man! Hey!" called Wally futilely, zipping alongside the ghost and waving his arms. It didn't do any good.

Robin experimentally threw a couple bolas and batarangs, but quickly gave up on that plan when they were just as ineffectual as last time. "Uh, KF, could really use some help right about now!" he called. This wasn't good. The thing was backing him into a corner, and there was nowhere to go, nowhere to climb to, and nothing Robin could do to fight something he couldn't hit, all while giving that mysteriously solid sword plenty of space.

"Uh, uh, ghost breath! Come on, pay attention to me!"

"Not _working_ , KF!" shouted Robin, feeling his back bump against the wall. "Holy—" he yelped as the highwayman swung his sword right at him, ducking just below where it pierced into the wall.

"Leeaaaeeaaaave!" wailed the ghost, tugging ineffectually at the sword that was embedded in the wall.

"Comin' atcha, Rob!" shouted Wally and zoomed over to his teammate, barely stopping as his teammate practically leapt into his arms. Wally zipped away again, just as the highwayman pulled the sword out and swung it over his head, shaving off a few more of Wally's hairs.

"Zoinks!" shouted Wally gleefully as he dodged the sword. "You'll have to better than that!"

"Don't test him, Wally!" shouted Robin, struggling around in Wally's arms to peer over his shoulder.

"Stop squirming!" retorted Wally. "You don't want me to drop you while I'm running!"

"I'm trying to see something," retorted Robin, ignoring him completely and wresting his wrist computer out where he could access it. "I think I managed to…hah!" he crowed.

"What? What'd you manage?" asked Wally.

"I got a tracking beacon on the sword," said Robin, looking like the cat who got the cream.

* * *

 _M'gann!_ called Artemis mentally, doing a 360 and knocking an arrow. Kaldur had readied his water bearers, which were now in the shape of swords.

 _M'gann?_ he called, echoing Artemis.

 _I'm…a bit…busy!_ came M'gann's mental voice. It sounded like she was in a fight.

"Kaldur, quick, over here!" called Artemis. She'd found another secret trapdoor, but this time it'd been left slightly ajar. "This must be where M'gann went!"

 _Guys, what's going on over there?_ came Robin's voice through the mental link.

 _We think something grabbed M'gann, we're handling it,_ said Artemis quickly, ducking through the trapdoor just behind Kaldur.

 _Is it the ghost?_ asked Wally. _Because we just—_

 _I_ said _we're handling it!_ grated Artemis. She didn't want to hear about how _concerned_ Wally was for M'gann. M'gann didn't need his help, and neither did she!

 _It—it doesn't respond to my telekinesis!_ said M'gann, ignoring Wally and Artemis's bickering. _Not the ghost, not the sword—_

 _M'gann, we cannot find you!_ said Kaldur. They had run down the stairs leading from the trapdoor and were in a dark, dungeon-like room, but there was no M'gann and no ghost.

 _And it's almost like there's no mental presence at all—oh, hello, megan! That's because there isn't one! It's—ooph!_

 _M'gann!_ cried Kaldur, but he could instantly tell his cry was heard by no one. They psychic link was down.

"This is insane!" said Artemis. "There's gotta be another secret exit, or something—"

"M'gann will be okay," said Kaldur with a confidence he didn't totally feel. "Out of all of us, she's the most powerful—"

"The psychic link going down is no joke, Kaldur!" snapped Artemis. "We need to find her!"

* * *

"The link's down!" said Wally. "Where are they?"

"I'm on it," said Robin, eyes flickering over the projected screen of his computer. "According to my tracker, the sword's over by the old saloon…"

"How did the ghost get over there so quickly? We were _just_ fighting it!" cried Wally. "And we were all the way across town from the saloon!" Wally paused when he got no response. "Robin?" Wally spun in a circle, confused, but Robin wasn't there. "Rob? Robin, where are you?"

"Over here, KF," said Robin, dropping down from the rafters.

"Jeez, man, don't _do_ that right now!" said Wally, clutching his heart. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," said Robin shrugging in a totally unapologetic fashion.

"What were you doing up there anyways?"

"Finding answers," said Robin, grinning. "What Miss M said right before the link went down got me thinking. We've been thinking about this case all wrong, KF! But there's no time to lose. We need to get over to the old saloon yesterday."

* * *

"Oww," said M'gann, pushing herself off from against the floor. At least she hadn't been impaled, she thought, reaching to rub the lump on her head where the highwayman had struck her with the pommel of his sword. As she reached up, she saw that her wrists and ankles were bound. "Ropes on a Martian?" she said to herself. "That's new." She easily untied them telekinetically, then camouflaged herself with the rest of the room. She didn't want any more surprises. If only she'd mastered density shifting like her Uncle J'onn, then she could just shift out of this room…

Not that that would be much of a problem, she thought, smirking, and wretched the door off its hinges, then easily floated up a set of stairs, only to have the door at the top slide open just as she reached it.

"Ha! I knew there'd be a trick panel around here somewhere," she heard Artemis say smugly.

"Oh, hi guys!" said M'gann, waving at them.

"M'gann!" exclaimed Artemis. "What happened?"

"Oh, the highwayman hit me on the head," she replied easily. "But he didn't knock me out for long. I think he thought he could kidnap me and hold me down there."

"It seems he didn't know who he was dealing with," said Kaldur, smiling. "But we're glad you're okay."

"Me too," said M'gann, returning his smile. "Oh, hello Megan! The psychic link!" Her eyes glowed green for a second, linking them all together again.

 _M'gann! You're okay?_ came Wally's mental voice. _Where are you guys? We're outside the old saloon, but we don't see you!_

 _I'm fine, Wally,_ replied M'gann, _And we're downstairs, but we'll come to you._

 _Good,_ replied Robin _, cause I think it's time to compare notes_.

"Take a look at this," said Robin. They were all above ground again, huddled around Robin's wrist computer, the blue glow of the screen reflecting back into all their faces. "This is my scan from our first encounter with the highwayman back at the old sawmill. You can see that most of the energy is focused around the highwayman himself—"

"Not the highwayman—on his sword!" said Artemis. "That thing's lit up like the fourth of July!"

"Right," said Robin, zooming in on it. "We've all noticed that the sword seems to be the only tangible thing about this guy, but if you look closely, you can see the energy is radiating outward from the sword, not the highwayman at all."

"So the sword is the key," said Kaldur, nodding.

"Exactly," said Robin. "But there's more. M'gann, tell us what you were saying before about the highwayman, right before the link went down."

"It was strange," she said, frowning. "Nothing that I threw at it had any effect, so I tried manipulating the ghost telepathically and telekinetically. But nothing worked! I couldn't move the ghost, or the sword, and when I tried reading the ghost, there wasn't even a mental presence!"

" _No mental presence!_ " repeated Robin gleefully. "And what's a ghost supposedly made up of?"

"Ecto-plasm?" replied Wally, taking a bite out of a snack bar he'd pulled from the compartment on his sleeve.

"No, Kid-Idiot," said Artemis, rolling her eyes. "Ghosts are made of souls. Of leftover _mental presences_."

"Got it in one!" said Robin, and snatched the snack bar out of Wally's grasp.

"Hey—what is it with you and my food today, Rob?" said Wally irritably as Robin took a huge bite of the bar and grinned wickedly.

"'m hungry," Robin shrugged.

"Says the kid with a perfectly normal-paced metabolism to the speedster," mumbled Wally, who pulled out another snack bar for himself.

Robin swallowed, waving him off with a shrug and a grin. "Anyways, what Miss M said got me thinking. If our ghost isn't really a ghost, then what could it be?"

"Finally!" said Wally, pumping the air with his fist. "Is it holograms? Please tell me it's holograms."

Robin's grin got bigger. "You're half right."

* * *

They had a plan. It was a simple plan, but Artemis was confident that they'd cracked the scheme and would have this highwayman business sorted out by morning. If only she'd gotten to partner with someone else for this part.

Wally was standing in the middle of the street, the moonlight reflecting off his goggles. "Y'know," he said conversationally around a mouthful of granola bar, "As far as ghosts go, you are really not a very scary dude. Like, a highwayman? Come on, you don't even have a horse! I've seen horror movies that were scarier than you."

Artemis groaned and rolled her eyes. She was concealed in the shadow of the old hotel, an arrow knocked and ready on her bowstring. The plan was that Wally was supposed to draw the ghost out of hiding and distract it, and she would take out the holographic projectors. Robin had explained that after M'gann had briefly gone missing, he'd noticed some odd readings on his scans showing small pinpoints of energy throughout the town, and when he'd climbed up to investigate (briefly disappearing on Wally), he'd found his suspicions confirmed. Holographic projectors had been hidden all over the ghost town, perfect for fooling any tourists or wannabe detectives that there was a real ghost on the loose. Removing the projectors wouldn't actually do very much to the ghost, since the sword was a separate issue, but it _would_ cause a sufficient distraction for the rest of the team to strike.

"Ever seen _Poletergeist_?" called Wally. "Oh, and you've got _nothing_ on those creepy little girls from _The Shining_. Seriously, that stuff's all fake and it's scarier than you are. It's like you're not even _trying_."

 _Keep going, KF,_ she heard Robin say in her head. _Tracker says the highwayman is heading your way._

Artemis shook her head. She couldn't believe this was working. A moment later, Wally grinned and lowered his goggles over his eyes as the highwayman appeared at the end of the road closest to where Artemis was. _Perfect_.

 _We're in position,_ said Wally mentally to the rest of the Team _. Ghosty is taking the bait._

 _Roger that_ , said Kaldur. _We're moving in!_

"Come on, you think you're all that cause you got a shiny sword?" called Wally. "Betcha can't catch me though!" Wally zoomed away, ducking left, right, and under, the ghost just missing him every time. Artemis wasn't paying attention though. She spotted the closest holographic projector, and now that she was looking for it, she could just see the thin beam of light coming from it and onto the ghost.

"Gotcha," she said, grinning, and fired her arrow.

The world exploded in a flash of blinding light.

 _Artemis!_ she heard M'gann call. _She's in pain!_

 _Artemis, are you okay? Wally, what's happening?_ asked Kaldur.

"Hey, hey, nonono over here!" shouted Wally, as the phantom flickered and turned toward Artemis, who was shakily searching the ground for her dropped bow. "Artemis!" Wally shouted, fear making his voice waver.

He was beside her in a moment. "Artemis, talk to me, what's happening," he said, placing himself between her and the oncoming specter.

"I…I can't see," she breathed. "I can't see anything!"

 _Kid Flash, Artemis, report!_ demanded Kaldur.

 _She shot out one of the projectors, but something went wrong,_ said Wally. _It was like a flashbang went off. My goggles must have protected my eyes, but—_

 _I can't see anything!_ she repeated mentally.

 _You guys_ have _to take out those projectors!_ said Robin.

 _Please tell me how I'm supposed to take them out if I can't see anything?_ demanded Artemis, her irritation covering up her fear for a moment. _I can't aim if I can't see!_

They were out of time. Wally grabbed the fallen bow and scooped up Artemis, ignoring her startled yelp, and ran them out of there, narrowly avoiding the specter's sword.

 _Bigger things to worry about at the moment!_ Wally called as he ran out of there. "Okay, umm, okay. We got this," he muttered.

"Got this?!" Artemis demanded, her voice cracking a little.

"Yeah," he said, a plan forming in his mind. _M'gann,_ he said, _my eyes are still good. Do you think you can link us up? Artemis can use my eyes._

 _Can I—oh! It's unusual, but not impossible,_ she said thoughtfully. _It's going to feel a bit weird. Are you okay with this Artemis?_

 _It's that or getting impaled by a mystical sword!_ she said.

 _Yeah, yeah, just do it!_ said Wally, digging his heels in and spinning them to a stop in the middle of the road and setting Artemis down in front of him. The ghost was only fifty or sixty feet away.

Suddenly, Wally felt the mental presence in his head flicker a little and then Artemis stumbled a bit.

"Gah, this is weird," she said and flailed out with her right hand, smacking Wally on the chest. "Sorry," she said flailing a bit more. "My perspective's all wrong. It's like looking in a reverse-mirror."

"What should I—"

"Just get behind me," she said, successfully grabbing his arm and pulling him against her back.

"Oof," he said. Artemis reached around and grabbed the top of his head, pushing his head down so his chin rested on her shoulder.

"This is like, the weirdest thing I've done in months," muttered Wally. "And that's saying something."

"Shut up, and don't blink," said Artemis, pulling an arrow from her quiver, knocking it, and loosing. It thunked into the wood next to the nearest projector.

"Leeeaaaave!" groaned the ghost, closing in on them. Wally tightened his grip on Artemis's waist, ready to jet them out of there if the ghost got too close.

"Crap, forgot to adjust for the perspective shift," muttered Artemis, drawing another arrow.

"Absolutely no problem, take your time," muttered Wally.

Artemis didn't say anything, but he could practically hear her glaring. She pulled back her drawstring again and fired.

It connected, with another blinding flash. The ghost flickered.

"Hah!" cried Wally, "Take that!"

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't deafen me on top of everything else," Artemis ground out as she fired a second arrow. It also connected, exploding in a brilliant starburst. The ghost flickered again.

"Sorry," said Wally more softly.

"Look to the left," commanded Artemis. He did, and she fired again.

Another flash, another flicker. Now the ghost was barely there. "Get ready, Wally," said Artemis.

"On it," he replied. She fired one more time, one last white flash, and then the ghost flickered, and vanished entirely, leaving nothing but the sword hovering in the air.

Only, it didn't stop coming.

"Okay, run now!" cried Artemis.

"Running!" shouted Wally, scooping Artemis up again and booking it out of there.

 _Uh guys?_ called Wally mentally. _We got the hologram!_

 _Yeah, so anytime you want to shut this thing down would be swell!_ added Artemis.

Wally was running flat-out now, only the sword was keeping pace. Wally spared a glance behind him to see it darting through the air with no visible instruction.

"Jeepers, that thing is nearly as fast as you are!" gasped Artemis as he looked back.

"Like, tell me about it!" he cried, and ducked into the old hotel. "Let's see how this thing handles corners!"

Wally sprinted up one hall, down another, the sword never more than ten feet behind them. They were moving so fast he was beginning to lose track; through one door, out another, back in the hallway, through another door…

 _Guys?_ he called out. _Seriously, any time now!_

* * *

Robin dragged his finger through a dusty footprint, then brought his hand up before his eyes and rubbed the grit between his fingers.

" _More_ sawdust with traces of gold dust? You've got to be kidding me!"

"In a trail of footprints, no less," mused Kaldur.

"Seriously, it's like this person we're after isn't even trying," said Robin. "Definitely dealing with an amateur."

"Or someone who assumed no one would get this far," said Kaldur darkly.

While Wally and Artemis were setting the trap, Robin, Kaldur, and M'gann were deep below the ghost town, ready to spring it. The plan had almost fallen apart when Artemis had been temporarily blinded by the explosion—while it seemed that the true culprit behind the night's events had gotten sloppy, the ghost—or illusion of a ghost, rather—was still dangerous. If whoever was pulling the strings realized how close he or she was to being discovered, Kaldur was sure they'd find themselves facing the highwayman again, as well as his even more-dangerous sword. They needed Artemis and Wally to act as decoys, keeping the highwayman away from the rest of the team and distracting whoever was controlling it by destroying the projectors.

Luckily, Wally had come up with the clever, if unusual and slightly crazy, plan of having Artemis use his eyes. M'gann had easily been able to filter what Wally saw into Artemis's brain, much in the same way she could translate languages without actively having to think about it or even listen in on the conversation. Kaldur just hoped that it was working. Using another person's eyes did not seem as easy as it sounded to him.

Kaldur, Robin, and M'gann followed the footprints as far as they could.

 _I sense somebody on the other side of this wall,_ said M'gann.

 _And my scans of the town are saying we're practically on top of the energy signal!_ said Robin.

 _Good,_ said Kaldur. _As soon as we get the signal from Kid Flash, we move in._

They didn't have to wait long.

 _Uh guys?_ _We got the hologram!_ came Wally's mental voice suddenly.

 _Yeah, so anytime you want to shut this thing down would be swell!_ added Artemis, her voice urgent.

Robin grinned. _Let's enter with a bang, shall we?_

 _Let's,_ agreed Kaldur. Robin strategically placed a few batarangs, and a moment later they exploded with a small boom and a cloud of brick dust.

The battle had hardly begun before it was over. They burst into the room, and a figure in a trench coat scrambled madly for the exit, kicking up clouds of brick dust in its wake. M'gann easily grabbed the person telekinetically and levitated them a few feet above the ground, their legs kicking ineffectually at the air.

Robin took in the rest of the room they found themselves in. Against the opposite wall was a huge computer terminal with dozens of screens, each showing a different view of somewhere in the ghost town. A few of the screens were filled with nothing but static, and Robin noted with satisfaction that the console was already lightly smoking; clearly overloaded from the backlash of Artemis taking out the projectors.

 _Guys?_ interjected Wally's voice again. _Seriously, any time now!_

Robin caught a glance of Wally through one of the screens; he was running through the old hotel, the disembodied sword chasing after him.

 _On it, KF,_ said Robin, eyes darting around the rest of the console. _Just need a minute_.

Robin's eyes fell on an intricate-looking scabbard lying on the console, various wires hooked up it. He traced the wires with his eyes back to a headset, which was also smoking a little. It seemed their culprit had been wearing until very recently.

"That scabbard is sorcerous in nature," said Kaldur from beside Robin.

"Yeah, and I don't want to touch it to find out what happens," agreed Robin. "I think our puppet master was controlling the highwayman and the sword using that headset, but Artemis taking out the projectors put the system on the fritz. I don't think anybody's controlling that sword now!"

"I would wager the scabbard and sword are magically linked," mused Kaldur.

"And I think this system was interfering with that!" agreed Robin. "But if we can shut it down entirely…"

Kaldur smiled, unsheathing his water bearers again. "One short electrical burst ought suffice," he said.

Robin grinned, and nodded.

* * *

Back at the old hotel, the sword suddenly halted its mad chase and fell to the floor with a clatter. Wally skidded to a stop, swung Artemis down to her feet, and leaned over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"I… _never_ …want to do that again," he panted.

"Same," agreed Artemis. "Really not the most fun mission I've ever been on."

"How are your eyes?" asked Wally, looking up at Artemis.

"They're…I think they're getting better," she said, squinting in a direction just above his left shoulder. "Still can't see much though." She paused, a funny look coming over her face. "Hey Wally…thanks, y'know, for helping me out back there. It was…it was a good plan."

Wally stared at her for a moment, letting it sink in. Artemis was…thanking him? That was…nice, actually. He gave an awkward laugh. "No problem," he said, "I mean, you really had me scared there for a minute. Like, I thought we were gonners." His mouth twitched in a half smile.

"Nah, I knew you'd get us out of there," she said.

Wally's mouth opened a little in surprise, his eyebrows disappearing behind his cowl. "Really?" he asked, trying his best to sound nonchalant and failing completely.

Artemis scoffed. "Wally, as much as you annoy me on a regular basis, you're my teammate and I trust you," she said. "Don't act so surprised."

Wally kept staring at Artemis, a small smile growing on his face. Artemis glared.

"You're staring at me."

"What! NoI'mnot," he said quickly, looking away.

"Wally, M'gann still has us linked. I can see everything you look at."

"Right, well, uh…"

"Forget it," she said, rolling her eyes. "Let's go find the rest of the Team."

* * *

"It's simple really," said Robin. "Just some fancy holograms paired with a neat bit of techno-sorcery."

"It all goes back to the original highwayman of Happy Valley," said Kaldur.

"The real one, not the ghost," clarified Wally.

"Back in the day, he stole a fortune in gold bullion from the government stagecoaches," said Artemis.

"The highwayman of old took advantage of the fact that the stagecoaches used the route through Happy Valley as the only direct way of passing through the surrounding mountains," added Kaldur. "And notably, the highwayman was always said to have a sword with him, one that guaranteed him victory in every heist."

"Then the highwayman vanished nearly a hundred years ago. Everyone assumed he'd gone to spend his riches elsewhere, and the stories of his sword faded into myth," said Robin.

"But what nobody realized," added M'gann excitedly, "is that none of the gold ever left Happy Valley at all! It was hidden the whole time, right here…"

"Under the abandoned sawmill," completed Robin.

"And that's not the only thing he left behind," said Wally, reaching around and displaying the sword, which was now displaying no signs of magical activity.

"The sword was enchanted to do its wielder's bidding," explained Kaldur. "And it lay with the treasure for over a hundred years, undiscovered."

"Until _somebody_ found it and the treasure," said Wally, waving the sword a little.

"One Hollis Mayweather," said Kaldur, gesturing to the museum curator, who was currently bound at wrist and ankle with bat-cuffs, glaring at each member of the team in turn.

"Mayweather knew if he reported the money he'd found, it would all be seized by the government," said Artemis. "So instead, he decided to dig it up and keep it all for himself."

"And it just so happens that Hollis here has a slightly shaky background in techno-wizardry, and thought if he encouraged stories of the ghost of the highwayman haunting the town, it would scare off any would-be investigators. All he needed to do was hook up the sword to a holographic manipulator, set up a projection system, and voila! Instant ghost," concluded Robin.

"And it was working!" burst out Mayweather. "I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you…you…meddlesome teenagers!"

"Oh, save it," said Artemis, rolling her eyes.

"It looks like you solved the mystery," said Batman stonily, who'd been silent through their report. "Though next time, when I send you on a covert mission, I hope it will remain covert." Robin winced a little at that. "But this was good work." They all brightened, and Wally gave Robin a high-five. "I'll escort Mr. Mayweather to the authorities. You all can make your way back to the Cave."

"Alright!" whooped Wally, once Batman was out of earshot. "Another win for the team. And, souvenir!" he crowed, spinning the sword around by its handle.

"Careful with that, Kid-Idiot!" said Artemis, who was walking arm-in-arm with M'gann up the ramp to the bioship. Her sight was returning, and it seemed she would make a full recovery within a day or two, but she still wasn't seeing with perfect vision.

"Hey, I thought you trusted me," said Wally, though he stopped spinning the sword anyways.

"Not when you're waving around sharp, pointy objects!" she countered.

"Aaand, things are back to normal," declared Robin, grinning. "Man," he sighed, leaning back in his chair in the bioship, propping his hands behind his head, "it's too bad SB and Wolf couldn't make it on this mission though."

"Yes, his invulnerability would have been quite useful against the ensorcelled sword," said Kaldur, taking his own seat.

"I mean, yeah," said Robin, turning to face Kaldur, "but if Wolf had been here, it would have been perfect!"

"Why?" asked Artemis bluntly.

"'And I would have gotten away with it too!'" said Robin, imitating Mr. Mayweather, "'if it hadn't been for you meddling kids, and your dog too!'"

"I don't get it," said Wally blandly.

"Come on, guys!" said Robin, spinning around to look at each of his teammates. "Meddling kids? Dog?"

M'gann shifted her glance from Robin to her other teammates, uncertain. "Is this an earth reference I don't understand?"

"Beats me," said Artemis, shrugging.

"Seriously, none of you?" said Robin, laughing.

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about," said Wally, giving Robin a weird look as he moved to take his own seat.

"We've had a long night," said Kaldur, resigned. "I think it's best if we head home."

Robin spun around in his chair again and cackled one last time, then settled in for the long journey home.


End file.
